Introduction:

 
Dr. Kathleen O'Rourke serves as the Aging Studies Graduate Coordinator and Human Services Graduate Coordinator at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois. Dr. O’Rourke has been a professor in the Department of Human Services since 2001 and is a member of the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies faculty. Dr. O’Rourke holds a Ph.D. in Family Studies with a specialization in Gerontology from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and M.S. and B.S. degrees in Home Economics-Family Services (now known as Human Services) from Eastern Illinois University in Charleston.
  
Dr. O'Rourke serves on the Patient Family Advisory Council for Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Care Center. Dr. O'Rourke has served on the East Central Illinois Area Agency on Aging Advisory Council for Reducing Social Isolation in Coles County. At the national level, Dr. O’Rourke has been the President of the Board of Directors for Kappa Omicron Nu, the leading honor society in Human Services, and on the Board of Directors for the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences Alliance. Finally, Dr. O'Rourke has served as President of the Board of Directors for Sexual Assault Counseling and Information Service (SACIS) in Charleston, IL. 
 
Prior to joining the faculty at EIU, Dr. O’Rourke was employed by St. Mary's Hospital (Tennova Healthcare) in Knoxville, Tennessee as a Geriatric Case Manager for the Employee Assistance Program and as a Geriatric Consultant in the Division of Senior and Community Services. While at St. Mary’s, Dr. O’Rourke’s primary responsibilities included: direct care service, cognitive assessment testing, and caregiver support group facilitation in a dementia-specific adult day program; community outreach education and support for caregivers and older adults; grant writing and fund development; home-based care coordination services and living environment assessments; and development/ implementation of hospital-based intergenerational programs for older adults and young children.
 
Early in her career, Dr. O’Rourke held faculty positions at The University of Tennessee as the Director of the Early Childhood PreK-Grade 3 Teacher Licensure Program and as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Child and Family Studies and at Carson-Newman University in Jefferson City, Tennessee as an Instructor in the Division of Family and Consumer Sciences.
 
Dr. O’Rourke’s areas of research expertise include intergenerational programming between older adults with dementia and preschool-aged children; the portrayal of older adults with dementia in popular media and children’s literature; disclosure and support for college-age women post-sexual assault; predictors and patterns of intimate partner violence; news media portrayal of campus sexual assault cases; environmental organization principles of caregiving programs for young children and for older adults; and smart home assistive technology for older adults and caregivers.

Fall 2024 Courses: 

HSL 4846 Aging and the Family

HSL 5980 Human Services Internships

HSL 5990 Human Services Independent Studies

HSL 5992 Aging Studies Independent Studies 

Online Office Hours:

Tuesday/Thursday 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

Please email kaorourke@eiu.edu to arrange a phone or Zoom appointment.